Stewardship Joke #3
There once was a strongman at a circus sideshow who demonstrated his power before a large audience. Toward the end of his show, he squeezed the juice of a lemon between his hands. He said to the onlookers, I will offer $200 to anyone who can squeeze another drop from this lemon.
A thin older lady hobbled up the stage. She picked up the lemon between her two frail, boney hands. She squeezed. And out came a teaspoon of lemon juice.
The strongman was amazed. He paid the woman $200 but privately asked her, ‘What is the secret of your strength?’
‘Practice’, the woman answered. ‘I have been the treasurer of my church for forty-two years!’
In this morning’s Gospel text from Mark we finish what is considered a little segment of the Gospel. It begins with a healing and ends with the healing of Bartimaeus. In the middle are lessons on what is required to enter God’s kingdom or realm. Immediately following today’s telling of the healing of Bartimaeus, Jesus enters Jerusalem on the donkey for what is his final week of life. So, we can assume the messages here are important ones that Jesus is hoping to impart on us as he wraps up his ministry on earth.
Listen for God’s word as it is revealed to us by Mark in the 10th chapter, verses 46-52.
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher,[a] let me see again.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. (The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.)
Jesus is walking within a huge crowd. His notoriety had reached a peak and everywhere he went he was met by people who wanted a part of him, to touch him, to have him speak to them, and to the healed. Like a rock star of today, his disciples now have to keep people away from him and are now having to act like his agents/ his bodyguards/ and the doorway to have a meeting with him. It has become a wild scene. And a man so was blind, Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, heard the crowd and that this man Jesus of Nazareth, son of David was walking by. And instead of getting out of the way of the group passing by, he had the audacity to start yelling to Jesus to heal his blindness. The disciples/agents/bodyguards all told him to stop. Get away… Jesus has bigger fish to fry than you! But instead, Jesus stopped, Jesus heard him, and healed him and told him to go. But Bartimaeus joined the group and followed Jesus becoming a part of that oddly triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday.
The message in this story is in the interactions of the characters and the story has two main characters: Jesus and Bartimaeus and I believe each one has important and relevant lessons for us.
First, let’s start with Bartimaeus – Bartimaeus is us. They say Bartimaeus is blind, but I don’t think his handicap is the important part of the story. Bartimaeus, like so many of us, has a request, a need and has the impertinence to ask God for a solution. We are this person. Bartimaeus is the ultimate squeaky wheel getting the grease. He heard that crowd coming his way and even though he is chastised for asking for help from a very busy and important Jesus, he just keeps on asking and squeaking nonetheless. It is a lesson for us that we too can scream out to God. God might have a lot on God’s agenda at this time…. packages with bombs are being sent…. thousands of people are walking from Central America through Mexico in a caravan headed to what they hope is a better life…. people’s lives have been destroyed by hurricanes and tsunamis…. there are so many things that need God’s love and care…. but we too can dare to approach God with our troubles as well. Jesus was not too busy for Bartimaeus. Jesus was not too busy to respond to those who believe he has the ability to make a difference in their lives. And how do we talk to God? Through prayer. So… pray as your prayers will heal you. Scream out to God about your pain as it is healing and will change you. Pray in thanksgiving as it is important for us to remember all the blessings we have received and pray when we are alone and feeling the need of healing as voicing your needs before God is indeed a way to handle them.
But Jesus, in his response to Bartimaeus, is a lesson to us as well in how we are to respond to the needs of others. The first that Jesus did should be an example to us in all the mission we do. Jesus asked Bartimaeus what it was that he wanted. Jesus offered him the dignity of asking. He did not assume he knew what it was Bartimaeus wanted. He asked… and in doing so he becomes the example of how we should respond to the marginalized, the silenced, the suffering, and the vulnerable. Even with all the best intentions of helping the other, they should be able to say what it is they want. We should never assume or presume we know what another needs. Let them have the dignity of telling us. It isn’t about us but about them.
Jesus also models our mission in that he sees the person. Bartimaeus is not just an unnamed silent beggar on the street but someone who has a name, a family, a story, and a place. If we are to live out our calling as followers of Christ, we best do it with the same gentleness, faithfulness, love, and patience that Jesus showed in this little story. Jesus calls us to know they other as a person, not as a condition or a circumstance. Many of you know I take an art class on Fridays. I have found painting to be one of the great joys in my life. The painting I am working on this fall is one of a homeless person who I got to know this past summer. His name is Samuel and he part of the illness he has which has put him on the street involves hoarding. I wanted to photograph him so that I could paint him later. I needed to get to know Samuel so that he would allow me to photograph him so I visited him a few times under the Metro. At first I was going to paint the man and his mess…. but the more I talked to him and understood him, I realized that he was a person of great dignity. His collections were important to him but not all of him. He was a gentleman, a kind soul, and a person who enjoyed talking. In my painting I am hoping to show his pride and his good character. I have promised to give him a picture of the painting and I hope I can find him when it is done. I have enjoyed getting to know Samuel and when you paint someone, you learn them in a new way. He is indeed one of God’s beloved children.
Another thing Jesus models in this story about Christian mission to others is that when someone calls out for help, at the very least we should not order them to be silent. Even if we do not agree with their pain, we need to honor it. By listening to Bartimaeus, Jesus is teaching us that all… the exploited, the abused… the neglected… the hurting… the grief stricken… all should be able to cry out and be heard. I remember as a child being dismissed in my pain by adults saying that I should not be a baby. ‘Oh, get over it, you’re not even hurt!’ … It was so dismissive. My pain was inconsequential to them. And we do it to others when we say to the grieving, oh it has been a year, you are still not grieving are you…. It isn’t our call to make. If someone is hurting, it is pain.
We should also mention that it is important to say that Jesus stopped. Our commitments, our focus on where we are going, our frantic pace to get to a destination, often prevents us from doing what God calls us to do. When someone calls out to us, we need to stop what we are doing and be there, be authentically there for them. This is a hard thing to do in our society. When Bo and I were first married, he commented that when a parishioner called me at home I talked while facing a wall. I had not noticed. What I was doing intentionally was trying to be there fully for the other person. When you are talking to someone, when they are sharing their hurts and pains, they must be the center of your existence. Nothing can be more important than this one child of God. Jesus models that in how he responds to Bartimaeus.
The last things we can glean from this little story about Christian mission comes from the two characters responses to the healing. In Jesus’ case he asks for nothing in return. It isn’t a transaction and Jesus did not ask or expect gratitude or deferential care. Jesus freely gives and Bartimaeus is free to respond in any way he wants. We learn from Jesus’ actions the example we are to follow. We are to see, hear, honor, heal, and offer grace to the other without any expectation in return.
And Bartimaeus’ response to Jesus was to follow Jesus down the path, not knowing where it would lead. And that dear friends could be a definition of stewardship. What we are is God’s gift to God. What we do with what we are given is our gift to God. Amen.